2) EXT - STORAGE UNIT COMPANY - DAY

Jack pulled Ann's Camaro in front of a storage unit. He got out and unlocked the padlock, and raised the garage door. Ann followed, intrigued.

When she saw what was inside, her eyes sparkled with delight. "You got one!"

The evening light fell across a vintage Chevy Chevelle SS: midnight black lacquer with gold pin striping. She peered around him and caught the gleam of Cragar S/S mag wheels.

"Meet my pride and joy." Jack walked inside the unit and unlocked the driver's door. "Care for a ride?"

"Absolutely."

He unlocked the passenger door for her and she climbed in, settling back in the comfortable leather seat.

Jack settled in the driver's seat and cranked the ignition. The engine roared to life with a throaty growl. He turned and grinned ear to ear.

"Definitely a big block, but what's the CID?" she asked.

He pulled the car out of the unit and left the engine idling.

"A 454, what else? Balanced and blueprinted, Crane Cam, dual exhaust, Holly double-pumper."

He climbed out and closed and locked the storage unit.

Ann relaxed in her seat, noticing the immaculate dashboard. The whole car gleamed with loving attention; it must have taken him years to restore it.

Jack got back in and put the car in gear. He fastened his seatbelt, and then reached across to check hers. "All settled?"

"Sure - wind it out."

He floored it and the acceleration snapped them back in their seats. Leaving tracks behind them, he turned out of the parking lot and headed up the Pacific Coast Highway.

3) INT - PIZZARIA - EVENING

The pizza pan sat empty and forgotten as Jack and Ann reminisced.

"Do you remember the catechism lessons in Sister Perpetua's office?" he said.

Ann grinned. "I remember you cracking wise the minute she left the office. The catechism - not one bit."

She sipped her iced tea. "I do, however, remember the limericks you wrote on the tombstones in the school Haunted House."

He burst out laughing. "Yeah, I remember the demerits for that one."

"We really were incorrigible back then," she said. "I don't know how we survived it."

He sobered a bit and took her hand. "We had each other to believe in, at least for a while."

She squeezed his hand. "That we did. You were the only good thing about those schools."

"Did I ever tell you how cute you looked in knee socks?"

She smiled. "No, you didn't." She paused, and then grew quiet. "I wondered how you felt about me...beyond the friendship."

"You don't have to wonder anymore."

Go to chapter three